'Walking Dead' First Look: Abraham Braces for War

"The first episode will melt your brain," showrunner Scott M. Gimple tells THR of season five

With the return of AMC's The Walking Deada month away, new details are starting to emerge about how Rick and company will make their way out of the rail car at Terminus.

When viewers last saw the survivors, nearly everyone was reunited — and trapped in a train car at Terminus by a group of likely cannibals who may be foaming at the mouth for a taste of everyone. In a new photo, exclusive to The Hollywood Reporter, from season five of the zombie drama, Michael Cudlitz's Abraham is bracing for what appears a brutal and explosive fight with the so-called Termites (see the image, below).

"If it's war time and you're in battle, there are certain personalities that are good to take care of things," Cudlitz told reporters at Comic-Con about how Abraham may fit into a group that already has several leaders, including Rick (Andrew Lincoln), Daryl (Norman Reedus) and more. "The group needs that strength. It's going to be curious to see when things settle down who is able to step back and who is not. When there's two people in a van, it's easy to work things out. But when the extended family gets involved, things start to fall apart sometimes. … That's potentially what's going to happen."

What still remains unclear is if Abraham, Eugene and Rosita will be able to get Rick and company to join them on their mission to Washington.

"All the groups can coexist to some degree," he added. "We have one group that definitely has a mission and one that doesn't — other than staying alive and keeping their core together. Right now, they all have the same mission: to get out of where they are. There's times where the shortest distance is not always the straight line, and both groups understand that. And all the leaders in the group understand that."

Ultimately though, showrunner Scott M. Gimple says what matters most is if you can defend yourself. "In a zombie apocalypse, you really do have to be an army of one," Gimple says. "The first episode will melt your brain."